Measuring Financial Inclusion in Turkey
The briefing paper “Measuring Financial Inclusion in Turkey” summarizes the current state of financial inclusion in Turkey in terms of financial services usage and the level of access to financial services for individuals and SMEs.
Turkey is the 16th largest economy in the world in terms of GDP, a member of G20, OECD and a candidate for European Union membership. Its population is technologically well-connected, with mobile and smartphone penetration close to that of major EU nations, yet fewer than 60% of adults have a bank account at a formal financial institution — less than across the EU and much less than the Turkish financial infrastructure could potentially accommodate. The Microfinance Centre (MFC), with support from the MetLife Foundation, carried out a short-term research project to explore financial inclusion issues in Turkey, specifically to:
– map information sources on usage and access to financial services and the availability of data
– assess the level and quality of financial inclusion of individuals and SMEs.